Guided by a Count
by PurelyMediocre
Summary: A very different Count Dooku gets pulled into a force anomaly just after he leaves the Jedi order. This Dooku remains uncorrupted by the Dark Side. He left the Order for purely ideological reasons. His disembodied spirit joins with a young Harry Potter and acts as a guide to a child caught in a terrible situation. Kind of two AUs. Pairings undecided. Main pair will not be slash.


I don't own anything of approaching the worth of Harry Potter or Star Wars.

ANs at the bottom are slightly important.

Camloch Dooku walked with the gait of a man accustomed to battle. There was a quite grace in the way he moved, a confidence that permeated his every action. His walk was predatory like a vornskr silent and unrelenting. He projected an air of power as he moved through the halls of the Jedi Temple. He passed great murals and reliefs of the exploits of Jedi passed. He strode past statues and busts of fallen members of the order. Dooku respected many of the figures displayed throughout the temple but the more contemporary additions garnered little of it. Dooku reached the stairs leading to his destination, the Archives. There were four main entrances to the archives one in each cardinal direction. Dooku entered through the eastern entrance passing a wookiee youngling being shepherded by a creche master. His face softened, momentarily, at the sight. It was rare for wookiees to join the order but they typically became staunch allies. Tyvokka was one such Jedi who Dooku respected immensely even if he has often disagreed with him. Dooku passed through the archway and into the archives where his quest for knowledge awaited him. He spent much of his time in the archives among the stacks of holobooks or sequestered in the holocron vaults. After Baltizaar he found himself in need of projects to occupy his mind. For six years he had done nothing but train meditate and take missions away from the Temple. This year he had began his exploration of the archives. Today he especially needed the escape the databanks and holocrons offered.

Today marked the seventh year since Baltizaar. Seven years of well hidden self doubt. Komari's death weighed on him more than he let on. He may have had her cast out of the Order but that was not meant to be malicious. He truly believed she had become unsuitable for the Order. She was overly aggressive. That by itself may have been manageable but not with her infatuation on top of it. Her obsession with him was disturbing. That she viewed him a man decades her senior romanticly was a failing on his part. He should have seen the signs sooner and dissuaded her before it developed. He had always disdained Masters who acted as parental figures to their padawans. He felt that it went against the Code. Now he felt they may have been partially right. Had he spent more time communicating with either of his padawans, he might have helped more and could have redirected Komari's interest in him. It would have been much better for to care for him as a father then what she ended up doing. Dooku would never be an overly emotional man but behind his stoic exterior he did care.

He should have done many things differently, even with Qui-gon he failed. Qui-gon may have become a Jedi Master but Dooku felt that was in spite of him. His former padawan only spoke to him when there was no alternative. He had yet to meet Qui-gon's most recent padawan. He had kept an eye on their exploits. After they completed their mission on Naboo, Dooku would make a point of seeking them out.

Dooku continued his steps into the Archives and made his way towards the Chamber of Holocrons. Today he would yet again delve into the Great Holocron as he did once every month. Each time he explored the Great holocron a little more of the Order's history became clear to him. He gave a curt nod to Master Nu as he passed her. She responded with a smile of acknowledgement and asked. "Trying to get your time in before the younglings come for their lessons?"

"Of course I wouldn't want to disappoint Master Windu and corrupt them with my presence." Shot back Dooku.

Jocasta's smile twitched wider at the self deprecation. "If you would only get cleared by a mind healer Mace would be put to ease."

Dooku snorted at the idea and continued to the Great Holocron.

-O-O-O-

Two hours later Dooku pulled his consciousness out of the Great Holocron gently lowering the Great Holocron. Once he released his telekinetic hold of holocron he uncrossed his legs and stood. The knowledge he was pursuing would be… disruptive to the Order. A jolt of frustration ran through him at Odan-Urr and Fae Coven. He quickly let go of his frustration as quickly as it came. His annoyance with the two Grand Masters was undeserved. They had done what they thought best for the Order. Odan-Urr had as he discovered today "refined" the Jedi Code from

Emotion, yet peace.  
Ignorance, yet knowledge.  
Passion, yet serenity.  
Chaos, yet harmony.  
Death, yet the Force.

to

There is no emotion, there is peace.  
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.  
There is no passion, there is serenity.  
There is no chaos, there is harmony.  
There is no death, there is the Force.

Dooku had been shaped by the New Code. It defined much of his life. His personality was formed by the New Code. He became cold, indifferent and impersonal in an attempt to exemplify his interpretation the Code. The only other things that defined him was his idealism and skill. When he was young the Code and the Order were everything. But in the present he could see the damage the Code was causing. The dearth of emotions the Order showed was leading to suspicion and resentment from the galaxy at large. The Order was unwilling to admit its ability to be ignorant. So sure of themselves, arrogance seeped through the Order. On his missions to the Mid and Outer Rims he had reported the growing distrust of the Order only for it to be brushed aside as baseless speculation. Even when Dooku brought the latest admission information, that showed a record low of new initiates, to the High Council's attention he was ignored. The Jedi Order was dwindling they cast out more and more initiates and took in fewer. Qui-gon's Padawan had been sent off to the AgriCorps and would have remained there if not for his bravery. Dooku now felt that the New Code was at least partially responsible for the shrinking number of accepted Padawans. The New Code taught that emotion of any kind lead to the Dark Side. This caused all emotion to be repressed in the Order. The repression was palpable in the temple and likely affected the young force sensitives that lived there making them unbalanced. Once he would have derided them for weakness. Once he had thought martial might and prestige were all that really mattered.

The Old Code however taught to accept and move past emotion. It taught that one must come to terms with their emotions in order to be at peace. A goal that was, in Dooku's mind, a far greater one. The more he read and researched the Order the more he realized how misguided he had been as a youth. He had as a young man thought that the Service Corps was a sign of weakness. How wrong he was, they were an asset albeit a horribly underutilized one. Now after his delving into the Order's past philosophy he realized that as long as one contributed you had worth.

Odan-Urr had only proposed the New Code Fae Coven was the one that truly forced it upon the Jedi as a whole. Fae Coven may have been wise but she was ambitious and sought to leave her mark on the Order. After the Army of Light disbanded she seized the opportunity and created the groundwork of what would become the new orthodoxy. The Jedi Path was her creation and was held as scripture. In the centuries after she ascended to grandmaster, almost all the praxeum ships had been recalled cutting the Jedi off further from the Galaxy. Fae Coven like Odan Urr was a good person but she started the Jedi down a path that would lead to the present insular decay of the Order.

Still consumed be his thoughts Dooku left the holocron vaults. He once again nodded to Jocasta as she passed leading a gaggle of younglings to some corner of the archives. Content with his progress in the Archives, Dooku retired to a training room prepared to spend the next few hours perfecting his form of Makashi.

-O-O-O-

The training room was barely lit. What little light there was came from a few small panels and bulbs on the training droids. The air in the room played host to a constant buzz, emanating from the dozen droids floating in it. An azure blade spun in Dooku's hand letting off a low hum as it whirled through the air casting a blue light throughout the chamber. A red bolt shot out of a hovering droid momentarily adding a red glow to the room . The blade was in its path almost as soon as the bolt was launched. The bolt ricocheted back towards its source. Another droid fired. Then another. Dooku sidestepped the first and brought his blade over his shoulder to deflect the second. His right arm moved smoothly from one block to the next with his lightsaber dancing in his hand. Through the whole process his left hand barely left its position tucked behind his back. While blast deflection was form II Makashi's primary weakness, decades of experience allowed Dooku to slowly adjust his style to mitigate the problem. He would never match a master of Soresu in blast deflection but he would outlast an average practitioner of the defensive form. Yet another bolt came towards him and he finally raised his left hand and the force swirled around it as bolt approached. As the bolt reached the fluctuations in the force it sputtered and died before reaching his hand.. With his success Dooku ended the exercise singling the droids down. The use of Tutaminis came to him with surprising ease as he had never put much stock some of the more esoteric Force powers. He had recently begun memoriseing as much as possible relating to those powers. The only power he has had the chance to practice with any regularity was Tutaminis. The lights slowly came back on. The gradual brightening of the room revealed its simple and functional design. The droids returned to their pedestals, that lined the north wall of the room.

Dooku stilled in at the heart of the room. He was dripping with sweat from the hours of exertion. His breathing was quick, not quite erratic but nowhere near as consistent as normal. With practiced ease he slowed his breathing back to its customary deep and steady rhythm. Forcing himself to maintain his breathing pattern he began to move through the standard Makashi forms. His slow and deliberate movement serving as a cool down and a chance to reflect. He felt the Force flowing through him. He felt it in layers uncountable layers. It was as all in composing as the void of space. It calmed him. Dooku pulled his attention away from the majesty of the Force and back to the mundan. He finished the last of his forms allowing his muscles to relax after a long period of strain. He walked over to the bench that ran the length of the western wall and grabbed a towel to wipe away his sweat. Dooku had just finished drying his hair and began the process of calling a cleaning droid to the chamber he had just used; when a call went off throughout the temple "Master Dooku please report to the High Council chambers".

Dooku sighed, finished calling the droid and then pulled out his communicator to respond. "This is Master Dooku I will be along shortly."

After slicking his hair back and straightening his cloths Dooku left the room to begin the long walk to the council chambers.

-O-O-O-

The beautifully inlaid doors to the council chamber opened before Dooku revealing only one council member. "I had thought this would be another attempt to coerce me into going on missions again but it seems I am mistaken."

Yarael Poof frowned slightly and spoke somberly. "Qui gon has joined the force." Dooku inhaled slightly lips trembling just enough to be noticed. Schooling his features he asked. "When?"

Poof sighed. "This morning on Naboo. The rest of the council is on route for the funeral."

"Why was I not informed sooner? I should be with the council heading to the funeral." Questioned Dooku his irritation growing.

Poof glanced down. "The new Chancellor will be in attendance and Ah… With your views on the Republic the council felt it best to keep you away."

Dooku's brow furrowed ever so slightly. "You keep me from my padawans funeral for the sake of your politicking." A pause. "What of Obi-wan he will need a new Master to guide him until his trials. I don't suppose I will be kept from performing that duty as well."

Wincing Poof responded. "He is to be Knighted for his action on Naboo."

"What could he have done on Naboo that warranted that!"

"He struck down Qui-gon's killer."

Eyes narrowing Camloch asked "And who killed Qui-gon?"

"That information is restricted to the council."

"I will be attending the funeral and I will be having words with the rest of the council." Spat out Dooku.

Yarael's voice dropped from the comforting tone he had been using into a lower more commanding one. "You will remain where the council commands. We have indulged your behaviour on most things but we remain firm on this."

Dooku spun on his heal calling over his shoulder. "Then you will be casting another bronzium bust for the archives."

Poof stood stock still, shocked that Dooku's last statement suggested a willingness to leave the order. For a political and martial giant like Dooku to join the numbers of the Lost would shake the order. Yet Dooku had sounded completely serious when he and left.

-O-O-O-

Dooku strode back through the temple in a dark mood concealed by his standard stoic expression. He had been debating himself over weather or not he would leave the order for a while but now the decision was made. He was leaving. The Force had been drawing him to that conclusion for a while but with what occured in the Council Chambers his mind was made. The afternoon light poured in from the windows illuminating the earth toned hall he walked through. Rounding the corner Dooku came to his room. The door slid open revealing the simple but dignified room he had called home since he was knighted. He swept his gaze across the room, over his rancor leather combat gear and, over his collection of exotic teas gifted to him on his various diplomatic missions. His gaze stopped on Qui-gon's padawan braid which was set in a simple glass case on his desk. Gingerly picking the case off the desk, he warped it with the woolen blanket from his cot. Setting aside the blanket wrapped case Dooku took out his traveling pack from beneath his bunk and began packing the rest of his belongings.

-O-O-O-

Dooku made his way out of the Temple quickly after packing his belongings and arranging his transport. He felt no need to delay his departure or give Yarael time to do something. Dooku would not be surprised if in an hour or so Yarael would send a group of his colleagues to "convince" him to stay. The Quermian Council member was well meaning but to trusting of the establishment, he was in essence a yes man. Dooku crossed the threshold of the Temple with the smallest of pauses. The Temple had been his home for decades and now he had walked through it for the last time as a Jedi. Most of his fondest memories were made in the great halls, chambers, and corridors of the Temple. Continuing down the steps Dooku noded amicably to the few acquaintances he passed. He felt some guilt for leaving without giving proper farewells to the few friends he had. Sifo-Dyas would contact him as soon as he heard the news. Yoda, Jocasta and a few council members would be disappointed in him. Master Windu would be angry for days before trying to discover the cause. There would be a large fallout from his actions but he couldn't bring himself to care to any great degree.

Dooku paused on the final step, of the temples great staircase, and looked back at the building taking in its splendor. The five spires priced high into a clear Coruscant sky. Dooku exhaled slightly at the sight before returning to his long walk. For Dooku the walk away from the temple felt as though it took hours, when in reality it took maybe ten minutes to reach the public speeder docks. A relatively new transport pulled up to the pier, its gunmetal hull still slightly reflective where it was not obscured by an advertisement for some new line of droid. As soon as the last of the disembarking passengers got off Dooku slid his way into an open seat. A few civilians, likely petitioners of the Order, boarded the speeder. After the last the last of the new passengers, a Sullustan, took his seat the transport's repulsorlifts increased their humming the vessel pulled away from the docks.

-O-O-O-

It took ten minutes to reach Nav-han Spaceport. The port resembled a hollow mountain. The freight transports and small spaceliners docked radially on the exterior of the port. The largest hovering near higher docks with ships getting progressively smaller the further down one went. This allowed all the ships to stay within the ports airspace. The pit at the center of the port was two kilometers deep and had a diameter of seven hundred meters. The walls of the pit were honeycombed with thousands of private landing bays. The transport Dooku was on slowly pulled up to the rim of the pit in line with dozens of other similar craft. The cabin depressurized with a small hiss and the gangramp extended from the now open door. Dooku allowed the passengers closest to the door to disembark first. Dooku stood quickly once his turn came and pulled his minimal luggage from beneath his seat. On the first extended mission Qui-gon and he went on, his padawan had used the Force to summon their luggage in exietment. The memory of the scolding he had given the boy came to Dooku unbidden. Leaving the Temple had made him more susceptible to sentimentality. A sickly looking Rodian, she had a yellow hue to her skin, pushed past him and knocked him out of his remembrance. Dooku continued his way off the transport after his moment reliving the past he shared with a man now dead.

From the upper rim of the spaceport Dooku headed to one of the many lifts that dotted the level. He spotted an unoccupied one and stepped into the utilitarian contraption. The lift took him to one of the mid levels of the port where his contact waited for him. His contact was an unusually tall Ugnaught, Banrath, who had benefited immensely from Dooku exposing corruption in the Regulatory Body of Mechanics and Engineers on Coruscant. The Regulatory Body was a self aggrandizing name the Mechanics guild gave it self. Banrath had risen to the rank of Chief Inspector because of the fallout of Dooku's investigation. Dooku stepped off the turbolift and made his way toward the mechanics shop. The corridors of the spaceport were bursting with activity. A steady flow of crates were pushed through the halls, followed closely by the ground crews of whatever ship the crates came from or were going to. Occasionally inexperienced civilians would attempt to cross the halls without waiting for a proper gap in the traffic; leading to loud cursing in any number of languages. Dooku saw a number of brawls break out in the bars and clubs that were placed throughout the port seemingly at random. The brawls were almost always broken up by workers in orange. The chaotic nature of the building was do to the way it was built, additions and repairs done by different companies across centuries without an overarching plan. With the exception of government buildings and the high rises of the rich all of Coruscant was built in a similar manner. On lower levels fights could get lethal but this high up Coruscant maintained a thin veneer of civility. The closer Dooku made it to Banrath's shop the more orange jumpsuits he saw. Every maintenance worker wore the colour and due to Banrath's position in the mechanics guild most answered to the Ugnaught.

After spending twenty minutes weaving through the press of bodies Dooku arrived at his destination. The repair bay was large one hundred and fifty meters at its widest, the lowest point of the ceiling was fifteen meters, and it went straight through the spaceports structure. There were pillars at regular intervals breaking the bay down into smaller work areas. It was in the third of such areas Dooku found Banrath. The Ugnaught was working diligently on a yacht that had its ventral hull plating removed. Dooku waited patiently while Banrath worked on welding some device to the interior fram of the ship. Dooku admired dedication to a craft and that was what the porcian humanoid had. Once the near human finished its weld Dooku cleared his throat to get the beings attention. Banrath turned to face Dooku and removed his goggles letting them fall around his thick neck. The Ugnaught had its white hair tied back into a top knot and a set of full mutton chops that framed its pig like face. Banrath set down his tools and threw off his gloves before closing the gap between him and Dooku. The short mechanic grinned as he grabbed Dooku's offered hand.

"Master Dooku yar looking ta be in good health" he said with a heavy accent.

Dooku smilled ever so slightly. "As do you. I am surprised to find you here on your scheduled sabbatical."

With a slight snort Banrath responded. "I took ah break ta get away from teaching the kerfing incompetents not the mechanicing work. 'Ad ta teach one of em the difference 'tween ah spanner 'nd ah hammer. But ya din't come 'ere ta 'ear me complaning 'bout the layabouts 'round 'ere. Ya waned a ship ta Naboo."

Dooku's smile vanished at the mention of Naboo. "Yes I am obliged to see Qui-gon's last rights, should I make it in time."

Banrath sighed "Is ah shame that." He perked up slightly as he began talking of the ship he acquired for Dooku. "Got ya a fast ship though. It'll get'cha there real quick. It's ah corellian ship got ah 'roid navigator n pilot for ya. Know ya don't like flying."

"Thank you Banrath if you would not mind showing me to the ship, it would be much appreciated." stated Dooku.

The Ugnaught noded amicably and waved Dooku to follow him. Banrath lead Dooku to one of the adjacent hangers, in comfortable silence. Dooku's sharp sight scanned the machine shop as they walked through it. When he was younger he wouldn't have seen the similarities between the workers here and himself. Dooku dedicated himself to Makashi and these workers did the same with their craft. The two acquaintances passed into the hanger with Dooku's temporary ship. The spacecraft was of a relatively standard design. There cockpit was centered. It was gunmetal grey. It was in essence a box with a tube driven through it. The ship was wholly unremarkable, not in a bad way mind you, just in a boring one. Dooku turned to Banrath and asked "Anytime you would like it back by?"

Banrath shook his head "I won't be needing it back n'ny time soon. Yar free ta keep it as long as ya need it."

Dooku gave a gracious smile "Thank you for this, I would like to stay longer to catch up but time waits for no one. This will be farewell for now." he paused "And may the Force be with you."

Banrath nodded in acknowledgement and started on his way back to his project ship. Dooku walked up the loned ship's lowered ramp. The interior was much the same as the exterior purely functional. Dooku would have preferred something slightly sleeker or more refined but he would take what he could get. The ship had two rooms and the cockpit. One room was clearly a modified hold, where it once would have been a simple storage room there was now a reasonably comfortable looking sleeping quarter. There were two beds, a walled of washplace with a fresher, and a small padded bench. The room opposite of the sleeping area was the galley. The galley continued the theme of practicality. Once Dooku placed his belongings into one of the storage lockers in the ship's main corridor he made his way to the Cockpit. The lights brightened at his approach. Before the ship-locked droid pilot could begin speaking Dooku flicked one of the many switches on the primary control panel turning of the droid's greeting protocol. Dooku recognized the pilot's model it had a aggravatingly cheery disposition. Having prevented what, surely, would have been a trying conversation, Dooku entered his destination into the flight computer. As the ship prepared for takeoff Dooku settled into the copilot's seat and awaited departure.

-O-O-O-

The craft had no trouble leaving atmosphere or passing security screenings on the way out. It was as the ship approached a safe distance from Coruscant that Dooku began to feel the Force stir. The control panel displayed a countdown to hyperspace. Two seconds left. The Force trembles. Dooku closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness trying to identify the source. It came from somewhere directly ahead of the ship. The countdown reaches zero. The ship jumps. The Force rumbles then goes quiet. Thinking the anomaly had passed Dooku stood and made his way to the sleeping chamber. As the door to the compartment opened the Force stirred again this time more intensely. Dooku grasped his head in pain as the Force rushed through him. It was as if a storm had formed in the Force causing it to churn like a raging sea. A loud crack brought his eyes to the hull. The ship was buckling under the strain of the Force anomaly. Dooku's eyes widened momentarily before they relaxed into a resigned expression.

Death, yet the Force

Death came for them all. It was simply his turn. He would die, yet live on through the Force.

Death, yet the Force

The Force's churning reached a crescendo. The Force spasmed. It poured into Dooku overwhelming his senses, his mind and his body. The ship's frame buckled more. Hyperspace began to act on the ship as well tearing it apart. Then the Force spasmed once more, the ship exploded. The Force folded in on itself with the explosion as the focus point. Then there was nothing no debris, no sign any ship had ever been there, and no Dooku. And so Dooku passed on not as Jedi not as a Sith but as a man at peace.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Dooku's consciousness slowly awoke. He tentatively expanded his awareness. His mind spread from the spot he considered his center and found no body around it. He had no body. He had died. He remembered now there was that strange Force phenomenon and then he died. He was dead yet he still felt like himself. Dooku was surprised he had kept his sense of self after joining the Force. His former padawan had informed him that it might be possible, but he had written it off. Having no body would make his time rather dull. He allowed his senses to pass further out of his center. Where ever he was the Force was strong and seemingly untouched by the minds of this world. It was vast, deep, and most of all encompassing. While the Force was calm and steady there was another power he could feel. It felt younger he supposed it was also, more energetic, more spontaneous, and more exuberant.

"Help me," came a voice, "help me, someone, anyone!" it begged. A tremble went through the Force disturbing its calm. Dooku was alarmed at the cry for aid. The voice was young and desperate. Dooku reached out further, searching for the source of the cry. His "vision" became clearer the more time passed. The trembling grew as Dooku's awareness grew. The shapes he felt, became sharper and soon enough he was able to feel five lifeforms, in the chamber they appeared to be in. The serpent like creature had an aged and corrupted presence in the Force. Despite its current state Dooku could still get a small sense for its former majesty. An avian of some kind circled above massive serpent. Both creatures were small beacons in the strange energy. The other three life forms appeared to be humans or at least humanoid, it was hard to determine without true sight. They too had the strange power flowing through them. Though it did not seem to saturate the humanoids to the same degree as the bird and the snake. The youngest of them was fading quickly, the oldest seemed to be gaining strength from her like a leech. The other one was the one that called for aid. He had a hat of some sort now. Dust began to fall from the ceiling as the Force continued to buck.

The Force let him sense a connection between the three of them. All three, and what appeared to be a book, gave off the same dark aura in varying magnitudes. The book and the eldest felt nearly identical with the next most similar being the, what he now assumed to be female, youngest. They all let off a slight miasma. The darkness in the younger of the two males was the most interesting, it seemed to be highly contained in the forehead of the boy. The darkness in the boy's forehead and its restraints both were made of the foreign energy, but different facets of it. The trembling of the Force continued to grow. As the serpent tried to catch the avian, its body twisted and contorted causing its tail to swing wildly. The boy that had called for aid ducked beneath a swipe from the serpent's tail. Having successfully dodged the tail, the boy pulled an odd hat onto his head. Energy swirled around the hat. The boy winced. Then drew a blade from within the pointed hat.

A hissing sound caught Dooku's attention the older boy seemed to be communicating with the serpent. Dooku was mildly surprised, he had not considered the possibility of humans talking to snakes. He would have to find out if it was all snakes or just ones of enormous size that could be communicated with. Dooku banished his stray thoughts. The boy with the sword was holding it lamely with one hand and no finesse. He willed his presence in the force nearer to the boy.

"Hold it with both your hands youngling." he projected into the boy's mind which was wide open to outside influence. The child jumped slightly glanced around with hope in his eyes. That hope seemed to dim when he saw no one had arrived. The boy hesitantly did as he was told gripping the sword with two hands, so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Loosen your grip, there is no need to throttle the blade." The child hesitated. "Now!" The youngling complied. The serpent began to twist its way towards the boy, smashing into a shaking pillar on its way over. Some of the stones that formed the ceiling had already started to come loose with the Force shaking the entire chamber. Now with snake smashing its way through pillars pieces began falling from above.

Dooku projected his thoughts yet again "Bend your knees keep you weight evenly spread between both feet." The boy was clearly confused but did as instructed.

"Good, lower the blade so that the point is aligned with your target. Slowly head to the passage you came in from. I know it is blocked further in but entering it will limit the snake's movement and its ability to lunge." The boys eyes darted to the prone form of the fading girl.

"You will not have the means to save her if you die here! I can only instruct you I have no method of direct aid… If it attacks before you reach the passageway thrust up and into the roof of its mouth. Drive the blade through its brain and hope it does not crush you." The boy began to move as instructed. The snake that had been sniffing the air caught the boys sent and heard the slight shuffle of feet. The beast lunged forward. The bird swooped trying to divert the snaked attention. It failed as a piece of debris hit it, sending it plummeting towards the ground. The snake missed its initial lunge but quickly drew itself back to try again. The boy saw the serpent's second strike coming and followed Dooku's instructions. As the great maw approached him the boy thrust forward the blade, putting all his weight into it. There was a moment of resistance before the sword started to pierce through the roof of the snake's mouth. The snakes forward momentum drove the sword deep into its brain. Despite the boy's success in killing the beast he was still in dire need of physical help. One of the serpent's fangs had managed to cut into the boy's thin shoulder causing a considerable amount of blood to flow out of the wound. The boy did not seem to notice is injury at first, as he pulled the sword from the beast's mouth. Then the boy went stiff, he dropped the sword with a *clang*. Dooku sensed the pain rolling off the boy in waves.

Dooku was impressed by the boy's courage. If the boy had been competent Dooku would have liked him more, but Dooku had had no choice in who the Force had drawn him to. The former Jedi's main concern now that the serpent had been dealt with was if the snake was venomous and the amount of blood pouring out of the boy. The boy was clawing at himself, not the wound thankfully but at skin in a growing radius around the cut. Dooku supposed that his worries of venom were well founded.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Harry had never felt such pain in his life. Not when he had had his bones broken or his back lashed. He had learned to whether those near silently but this pain was to much, he screamed. "AAAaahhHHhrrrrgg- " His voice died in his mouth.

"I must admit I am impressed… slaying Slytherins monster with a sword." came the smug voice of Tom, who stood next to Harry wand in hand. "It's too bad she died and to such a horidly muggle method. But she is taking you with her so she did something right for once. I hear basilisk venom can be rather painful." He spoke while pacing.

Harry tried to listen to Riddle, not to hear him speak, but to focus on something other than the pain. He was desperately attempting to avoid falling unconscious. He knew in his gut that if he passed out he would pass on. Harry's senses latched onto the stern yet reassure presence that had spoke in his head. His magic reached out and grabbed it, like babe holds the hand of their parent. The pain which had now spread to his forehead suddenly spiked. The venom had reached his scar. He brought his hands to his head and felt something well up behind his scar. He pushed on either side of the scar, which was now even more inflamed than normal. The added pressure was enough for the scar to burst open, and instead of the pus he was expecting, a Darkness came screeching out. The Darkness tried to get away but something was holding it back. The Darkness had tendreals driven into Harry's very being. Harry could not see his Soul being pulled on but he could feel it. Just as he could now feel the Basilisk's venom eating away at both his soul and the foreign Darkness.

Tom paused his speech to look at Harry once again. The sight that greeted him was a greater shock than finding out that the older him had been vanquished.

Harry felt his soul tear and fray as the Darkness ripped itself out. The Darkness had managed to free itself but the venom had already began to destroy it. Harry himself was in a bad state. Venom was slowly shutting down his body and eating away at his soul; that was simultaneously unraveling due to the damage the Darkness caused. As Harry was on Death's threshold an energy very similar to magic began pouring into him. Harry felt another consciousness brush up against his, it gathered the frayed strands of soul and began held them together. The effect of the venom seemed to slow as the new energy flowed through him.

"What" muttered Tom. "Why would he…" Riddle ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "It must of been an accident, some unaccounted for variable." He paused thinking as he began pacing again. "I must have planned on making another that night."

The voice that had instructed Harry before returned. "Youngling the bird has brought you something."

A look of realization crossed Tom's face. "That dam mudblood ruined it!" Another pause. "Your mother bought your life and caused this with her protections." Tom continued pacing, to caught up in his thoughts to notice the changes occurring around Harry, who was partially obscured by the Basilisk's body.

Harry turned his head away from Riddle's rambling and looked around for Fawkes. He was startled when he found the bird a foot away from him dragging Tom's diary. The bird looked pretty beat up one of its wings was clearly broken but it kept coming. The phoenix stopped pulling the diary and looked at Harry expectantly. The bird cocked its head to one side than pecked at the sword and the diary in turn.

"He wants you to stab the book for some reason. He aided you in this fight so I see no reason to deny his request." The baritone voice spoke. "Stab the book for the bird then use the energy I have lent you to stab our pompous friend over there."

Harry could not see the source of the voice but if he could he would have bet the man would be gesturing dismissively at Tom. Harry picked up the sword without hesitation. He reversed his grip on the hilt of the sword and drove it down.

Tom must have noticed what he was doing because Harry heard the older boy yell "Stop!"

Harry ignored him and finished running the book through, after all if Tom did not want him to do it, it was probably a good thing. Ink sprayed out of the book accompanied by a scream almost identical to the one the Darkness in Harry had let out. Exhausted and still in a considerable amount of pain Harry slumped forward and fell unconscious to the sound of Fawkes' singing.

 **A.N. I** The Count Dooku in this story is based on the Legends incarnation of the Character. As there is no know first name for Dooku I have taken it upon myself to name him as I see fit. For the purposes of this story the Battle of Baltizaar took place in 39BBY instead of 33BBY. I am also taking some liberties with the history of the Jedi Order. Both universes in this story are AUs meaning things may not/ will not match canon.

 **A.N. II** To manage expectations a little the entire story will take place in my version of the Harry Potter universe. **There will be significant differences from canon.** Spells will behave differently. I find **Avada Kedavra** to be a crutch that **allows lazy fights**. What spell should this evil person use Avada Kedavra. Why would they use anything else. Crucio and Imperio are the same they are all too powerful. There are no real drawbacks to any powerful or useful spell. In my version of the Harry Potter universe Avada Kedavra will be one of the slowest moving spells. It will be best used on an already incapacitated opponent or at close range. Imperio will require prolonged eye contact. Crucio will reflect some of the pain back on the caster making it harder to maintain. Some spells will have erratic flight paths, others will have more complex wand movements or longer incantations. Wandlore will be explored in much more depth. Character's wands will be different to match my changes to wandlore. Wand creation will be examined and other foci will be used. If I make follow through with my plans Voldemort will be more than a trumped up terrorist. Voldemort is supposed to be the greatest Dark Lord yet he only managed to bring Britain to its knees. It is not even clear if he had any real influence on Ireland. Compare that to what the books tell us about Grindelwald. He was in league with Hitler and held sway over a significant part of mainland europe. (I am ignoring Fantastic Beast movies and Cursed Child by the way.) **Once thing get going** **it will be balls to the wall insanity.**

 **A.N. III** On cliches. I like some. I dislike others. This will have Harry become a Lord eventually. I will hopefully avoid most of the pitfalls that come along with that. There will be **no absurd amount of money waiting for Harry.** There will be **no surprise betrothal contracts.** This story will feature goblins and other magical creatures. Some goblins will help Harry others will hinder. Gringotts will not provide services for everything, that would be dumb. Goblins however will have a complete society. (meaning **there will be goblin healers they don't really matter though** ) By complete society I mean that there will be goblins that do everything cooking, mining, healing, farming, hunting, forging and any other thing a society needs to function.


End file.
